Father Figure
by Well of Allsparks
Summary: Izuku's dad died when he was young and Izuku doesn't even remember him. But after everything that's happened, he's started to see Toshinori as a father figure. He looks up to All Might and always will, and All Might is rather attached to his successor too. Today, Izuku makes a trip to the graveyard and All Might follows. Happy Father's Day. Fluff.


I really intended not to start publishing in a new fandom (I have stories on my computer for at least twice as many fandoms as I've published for) until I had more of my already published stories completed, but I couldn't quite help it. It's Father's Day, and most of my stories for BNHA would be good Father's Day stories. There's a lot I love about BNHA, but Dad Might takes the cake. So, here's a one-shot that's slightly AU. Yes, I know Izuku's dad is still alive and that he's overseas, but until we know more about him, I'm going to do what I want.

I don't own BNHA, but I hope you like this story.

* * *

"I had a dream last night." I mused, breaking the silence. "It wasn't about you, exactly, but it kind of was. I think it was because my friends, Uraraka and Shoto, were talking about their dads yesterday. Most of the others were gone training, but we stayed behind. There's kind of a sickness going around. But, I mean, that's not why I'm here. Shoto hates his dad. He's the number one hero now, since All Might retired. But Endeavor isn't a very good person, and Shoto says he's a terrible father. But Uraraka's dad is great. She was telling us stories about him, and her Mom, I guess. I didn't have a whole lot to contribute to the conversation though. I don't even remember what you look like."

The wind picked up and made me shiver. I looked away from the grey stone at my feet and looked to the trees lining this field. I looked back to the tomb stone and crouched to give my sore muscles a break. I ran the entire way here, after all.

"Last night I dreamt that me and my friends were going on a day trip to the ocean. And, all our dads came. Endeavor didn't want to, and he wouldn't get anywhere near the water. Uraraka's dad was super fun, and so was Iida's. Obviously, I don't know what most of them look like, so I guess I just made older, male versions of all of them. Except Kacchan's dad. I know him." I laughed shakily. "But I don't remember what you look like. At first, my dad wasn't even there. I was sad. For a moment, in my dream, I remembered that you were dead. But… then my dad showed up from out of nowhere and, in my dream, it was entirely natural. I was happy, and I was proud. I talked about him, but… I feel kinda bad. I don't even know you, so you weren't there."

Silence settled in around us. It isn't any special day; not any of the days that people typically visit the graves. It isn't the anniversary of his death or his birth, or anything like that. I just felt like I had to stop by today, because my dream last night had felt important about him. It's nothing against him, and I really feel kind of bad that he wasn't even my dad in my dreams anymore. Not that I ever really had dreams about him.

"It wasn't you; it was All Might." I finally filled the silence again. I laughed and shook my head, wiping my eyes. I'm not really sad or anything, but these emotions are strong. I'm not entirely sure what they are. "Just thought I'd tell you. I certainly couldn't tell him. I want to say I miss you, but I never knew you. Mom misses you, and I wish I had gotten to know you. But, I hope you're not upset."

I heard gravel shift behind me. I seized up, standing quickly and feeling my heartrate spike. These first reactions were instinctual, memories of so many attacks I've had and how many ambushes I've survived at this point scraping through my mind painfully. But these instincts subsided quickly. This didn't fit the M.O. of an ambush. No decent assassin would make a dumb move like making a sound like that, and I would already be dead. Or, at the very least, I'd be fighting for my life now. No, this is either a stranger or a friend, who probably didn't want to interrupt my talk with my dad.

I took a deep breath, debating on who it likely was to be. Mom? I'd have heard her walking up. Someone from UA then. I wiped my eyes on my wrist again, once more, before turning to greet them.

My heart skipped a beat and I took a step back, closer to the headstone. A tall, sunken man with a bandage around his head and arm stood there, an arm raised halfway toward where I'd just been. I opened my mouth and closed it, trying desperately to remember how loud I'd been talking, trying desperately to figure out how long he's been there.

"All Might!" I forced my startled attitude down, trying not to act suspicious. I put on a grin and assumed a relaxed stance. "What are you doing here?"

He looked my face over for a moment, lowering the arm he still had outstretched. "That's your All Might smile." He stated blatantly.

I wanted to act like I didn't know what he was talking about, but this was a term we'd used before. An 'All Might smile' is one he taught me to wear, one that screamed confidence on the outside while on the inside, you're scared or sad. I let it drop, settling for a smaller one that wasn't particularly happy, but was more honest.

"What are you doing out here? This isn't exactly on your route." I leaned backward on the tomb stone, the chilled rock pressing into my palms.

"I came to check on you. You don't have a good track record of being safe when you go off on your own." He stated.

I laughed, despite the fact his jab wasn't really that funny. I just felt light and… emotional right now. I sobered quickly, however, and resumed being plagued with doubts. I stared at him, trying to figure out what exactly to ask of him. How long has he been there? What did he hear? Why didn't he announce himself sooner?

"So, this is your father's grave?" He asked, distracting me.

I stood upright and stepped closer to him so I could look at the tombstone again. "Yeah. Mom and I come here twice a year, usually."

There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. "Thank you."

"What?" I looked up at him quickly, but he wasn't looking at me. He was still looking at the hunk of rock in front of us.

"I'm very grateful to him. Him and your mother both, I suppose. They produced a very good son, whom I am grateful to have now." He glanced to me now. I felt my face get warm and I looked away, looking back to the rock myself.

"If I weren't here, you would have found a different successor. There's lots of good people at UA." I scoffed, starting to get emotional again as I thought about the situation. I tried to push the tears down again. I don't cry a lot when I'm sad, actually. It's rather surprising to most people, disturbing my uncle when Grandpa died a few years ago, but I don't cry when I'm sad. I cry when I'm happy or frustrated, or when I'm finally facing a whole bunch of emotions that I've been stifling down to deal with at a later time. Well, now is the later time, I guess.

"That's true." He mused. I took a deep breath. "And in that case, I'd be eternally grateful to their parents. Everyone has a past and a future, and these are always changing. But now, I couldn't imagine choosing anyone else to inherit my quirk. Everything that you've been through has made you who you are. The kind, passionate, determined boy who will be a be a better hero than I ever was."

"That's impossible." I scoffed automatically.

A large hand fell on my shoulder. I looked up to him quickly, startled. He can't really use his hero form anymore, and yet, I almost thought that he had. He's done this many times before, and I'd have to say it's one thing that doesn't change between his two forms; his hands are the same.

"I have no doubt you will, my boy."

I took a deep breath again, looking back to the gravestone in front of us. "How long have you been standing there, All Might?"

"I'm not a pro anymore, Young Midoriya, and I'm not here as your teacher. You can use my name." He mused, avoiding the question. I didn't respond, not particularly wanting to. It's cheesy, of course, but he'll always be a hero to me. It feels more like a title to me, a show of my respect and admiration. Eventually, he decided I probably wasn't going to say anything, so he squeezed my shoulder once. "Long enough. And I feel honored, but I also feel as if I should pay my respects here, now."

"I never knew him." I stated blatantly. I'm not completely sure what point I was trying to make with that statement, though.

He opted not to address it. "Is that the only reason you came this way?"

"Ah, yeah. I guess." I didn't feel like I was finished here, but I did say everything I wanted to.

Then, he let go of my shoulder. I looked up to him curiously, but he was stepping forward to crouch in front of the grave and bowed his head. "Thank you for Izuku. He is a good boy, and the best apprentice I could ask for. The last thing I'd want to do is to offend you, so I hope you don't mind that I've taken him. I promise to keep him safe, prepare him for the future, and take care of him."

I was crying again. When he stood back up and turned back to me, he seemed startled. I tried to stop, wiping my eyes with my wrist again. While I couldn't see, he bent over in front of me and pulled me in for a hug. I accepted it, able to wrap my arms entirely around him. When we first met, and I'd grabbed onto his leg in his hero form, I'd done the same. He's so much smaller and shrunken in on himself like this, and yet he's the same person. A person I've gotten to know better than almost anyone else alive, and he's even better than I ever imagined.

"Come on. Let's get you back to the school before anyone starts worrying." He insisted, patting my back.

I nodded. "Right. Sorry."

He laughed as we started walking for. "What on Earth for, young's Midoriya? You haven't done anything wrong."

"You didn't need to come out here and follow me. It's a long distance. And you didn't need to listen to any of that. I'm just-"

"You're just the reason I'm still here." He cut me off. "Don't underestimate yourself or cut yourself short. I told your mother that I would dedicate myself to you now, and I don't intend to turn that into a lie. You are my successor, and you deserve all of my attention. You are my boy, so you deserve even more."

I felt my face heat up, but didn't argue.

It took longer to get back to the campus than it had to get to the graveyard. By the time we got there, the sun was setting and the lights were all on in the windows. Through one, I saw someone running past, then someone else the other direction.

"Go inside. Enjoy your time with your friends. Next time you want to talk to someone, you don't have to go so far." He pat my back again.

I grinned up at him. "Thanks, All Might."

He gave a smile back, waving me on. I nodded and turned to leave, heading up to the entrance to the dorms. I hadn't told anyone where I'd gone this morning, only that I was going to see my Dad. So when I moved in to sit in the commons next to Uraraka – who was giggling at something Kirishima had said when I came in – she looked to me with a curious look.

"Welcome back, Midoriya. How was he?"

"Who?" Mina asked, appearing on the back of the couch.

"My father." I answered, feeling uneasy and not entirely sure what to say. At this, most of the others went back to their conversation. But, curiously, Kacchan and Shoto both gave me curious looks. "He's doing… alright." I exhaled, putting on a small smile. I mean, he heard what I said and essentially accepted it. So, I'm definitely going to answer with him in mind.

"That's good. You know, after our conversation yesterday, I kind of wish I would have taken a day trip back home too." Uraraka sighed, leaning back.

"Maybe next weekend. That sounds pretty nice. I miss my older sister." Mina sighed, walking away from the couch.

"You have a sisters?"

"Oh, yeah. She's…" I tuned them out, leaning back and sagging into the couch. It's good to be back, but I'm not really up to participate in their conversations.

About an hour later, I decided to turn in for the night. Several of the others had already gone, so I didn't draw any suspicion. I really was tired, after all. Shoto followed me out, which wasn't weird either. After we got into the stairwell, the door behind us opened and closed. It was Kacchan.

"What's the big idea?" He demanded.

"Excuse you?" Todoroki questioned, stepping forward.

"I ain't talking to you, Icy-hot. I'm talking to Deku. Not that I care, I guess, but I didn't expect you to lie to your friends like that." He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall and watching me. I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I didn't feel particularly bothered. His glare didn't make me nervous like it used to.

"I didn't lie." I gave a small smile, thinking of All Might's face earlier when he realized why I'd gone out there.

"What are you talking about?" Shoto demanded, looking between us. I wonder what he wanted to talk about? Probably related to this, if I had to guess anyway.

Kacchan scoffed. "His dad's dead."

Shoto looked to me quickly. "What? What happened?"

"It was a long time ago. I don't even remember him anymore, to be honest. I was really young." I insisted. "He got sick, it wasn't even related to any villains or anything. He worked at the electricity office, for utilities. You know." I shrugged.

"And yet he's doing alright?" Kacchan raised his eyebrows. He isn't as angry as he used to be either. He still sounds condescending, like he was disgusted with the way I held myself, but he seemed more curious now than anything else.

I gave a smile, my All Might smile, and laughed easily. "My dad is doing alright."

"You're so fucking weird." Kacchan dismissed me, pushing past to go up the stairs.

I sighed and followed upward, Shoto in tow. But, he didn't continue up once I reached my floor; he followed me out. He's on the same floor as Kacchan, so he must want to talk with me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hesitating just outside the stairwell.

"Originally I was going to ask about your dad, being as you've never mentioned him before." He mused. "But I suppose that question has been answered now."

I nodded, waiting for the next part.

"Who did you go to see, then?"

"I went to the graveyard."

He watched me for a moment, clearly not convinced. I realized then that he was concerned about me. He knows well enough father issues, but this isn't the same. Actually, it's almost the exact opposite.

"Alright." He finally sighed. He still isn't convinced, and I found it uncanny how intuitive he is about this sort of thing. "You don't want to talk about it. Goodnight, Midoriya."

I gave him a grin. "Goodnight Shoto."

* * *

I have no intention of adding any more onto this. It's just a small, cute story that I've got finished. I have another BNHA story completed, which means I'll probably start publishing it soon enough. But, I'm also working on my published stories and I'm going to work hard to complete them. I'm just... in a different place than I was when I started them, so it's hard to bring them to a close.

Thank you!


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